Taking the Train: How Graffiti Art Became an Urban Crisis in New York City

5 THE STATE OF THE SUBWAYSTHE TRANSIT CRISIS, THE AESTHETICS OF FEAR,
AND THE SECOND “WAR ON GRAFFITI”

THE TRANSIT CRISIS

The MTA's capital improvement projects are funded through the sale of
bonds. Like New York City's government, the MTA by the late 1970s had
for some time been routinely dipping into capital improvement funds to
cover deficits in its yearly operating budget.
1 This sort of “creative accounting” was part of a much longer history of underfunding both day-today subway operations and capital improvements. Without funding, the
system had not been adequately maintained, rebuilt, or extended since the
independent commercial systems were unified as a public authority two
decades before.
2 Given this history, it remains an open question as to
whether a subway crisis of some sort was inevitable, come New York City's
municipal bankruptcy or not.

After 1975, a “crisis” in the subway system was assured. The City of New
York provides a significant portion of the operating funds for the Transit
Authority (TA). During his first year in office (1974), Mayor Beame began

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